Class conflict refers to the underlying
tensions or antagonisms which exist in society due to conflicting interests that arise
from different social positions. Class conflict is thought to play
a pivotal role in history of
class societies (such as capitalism and feudalism) by Marxists[1] who
refer to its overt manifestations as class war, a struggle whose resolution in
favor of the working
class is viewed by them as inevitable under capitalism.

Class conflict can take many different shapes. Direct violence,
such as wars fought for resources and cheap labor; indirect
violence, such as deaths from poverty, starvation or unsafe working
conditions; coercion, such as the threat of losing a job or pulling
an important investment; or ideology, either intentionally (as with
books and articles promoting anti-capitalism) or unintentionally (as
with the promotion of consumerism through advertising).

Definition of Classes
and Class Conflict

Class conflict is a term long-used mostly by socialists, Communists, and many anarchists define a
'class' by its relationship to the 'means of production'--such as
factories, land, and machinery. From this point of view, the social
control of production and labour is a contest between classes, and
the division of these resources necessarily involves conflict and
inflicts harm.

Class conflict in
pre-capitalist societies

Where societies are socially divided based on status, wealth, or
control of social production and distribution, conflict arises.
This conflict is both everyday, such as the common Medieval right
of lords to control access to grain mills and baking ovens, or it
can be exceptional such as the Roman Conflict of the Orders, the
uprising of Spartacus,
or the various popular
uprisings in late medieval Europe. One of the earliest analysis
of these conflicts is Frederick Engel's
German Peasants War[2]. One of
the earliest analyses of the development of class as the
development of conflicts between emergent classes is available in
Peter
Kropotkin's Mutual Aid. In this work, Kropotkin
analyzes the disposal of goods after death in pre-class societies,
and how inheritance produces early class divisions and conflict[3].

Class conflict in
Capitalism

The typical example of class conflict described is class
conflict within capitalism. This class conflict is seen to occur
primarily between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and takes the form of conflict
over hours of work, value of wages, cost of consumer goods, the
culture at work, control over parliament or bureaucracy, and economic inequality. The
particular implementation of government programs which may seem
purely humanitarian, such as disaster relief, can actually be a
form of class conflict.[4] Apart
from these day-to-day forms of class conflict, during periods of
crisis or revolution class conflict takes on a violent nature and
involves repression, assault, restriction of civil liberties, and
murderous violence such as assassinations or death squads.

Karl Marx and Max
Weber on Class Conflict

Karl Marx and Max Weber are both critical
to the development of the study of class conflict. In The
Communist Manifesto, Marx describes his ideas about class
conflict. Marx gives his own interpretation of what can be defined
as a class. He
states that a class is formed when its members achieve class
consciousness and solidarity [6]
This largely happens when the members of a class become aware of
their exploitation
and the conflict with another class. A class will then realize
their shared interests and a common identity. According to Marx, a
class will then take action against those that are exploiting the
lower classes. Marx largely focuses on the capital industrialist
society as the source of stratification, which ultimately results
in class conflict [6].
He states that capitalism creates a division between classes which
can largely be seen in manufacturing factories. The working class,
or the proletariat,
is separated from the bourgeoisie because production becomes a
social enterprise. Contributing to their separation is the technology that is in
factories. Technology deskills and alienates workers as they are no
longer viewed as having a specialized skill [6].
Another effect of technology is a homogenous workforce that can be easily replaceable.
Marx believed that this class conflict would result in the
overthrow of the bourgeoisie and that the private property would be
communally owned [6].
The mode of production would remain, but communal
ownership would eliminate class conflict [6].

Max Weber agrees with the fundamental ideas of Marx about the economy causing class conflict,
but claims that class conflict can also stem from prestige and
power [6].
Weber argues that classes come from the different property
locations. Different locations can largely affect one’s class by
their education and the
people they associate with [6].
He also states that prestige results in different status groupings.
This prestige is based upon the social status of one’s parents.
Prestige is an attributed value and many times cannot be changed.
Weber states that power differences led to the formation of political parties[6].
Weber disagrees with Marx about the formation of classes. While
Marx believes that groups are similar due to their economic status,
Weber argues that classes are largely formed by social status[6].
Weber does not believe that communities are formed by economic
standing, but by similar social prestige [6].
Weber does recognize that there is a relationship between social
status, social prestige and classes [6].